Joe Reardon

The popular, 2-term head of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas says there were many things he was proud of accomplishing, and a few things he regretted not getting done.

Over objections from Gov. Jay Nixon, the Missouri Senate has passed a tax overhaul that would cut income taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars annually for residents and businesses. It would also boost sales taxes.

The legislation is promoted by supporters as the most dramatic change to Missouri’s tax policies in decades. It’s prompted by a desire to compete with sweeping income tax cuts in Kansas.

On Tuesday, voters in Wyandotte County will narrow the field of candidates for the Mayor/CEO of Unified Government. The number running will be reduced from five to two, going into the April general election. KCUR’s Dan Verbeck reports on candidates’ backgrounds and issue-positions that have appeared since the campaign began in earnest only a month ago.

The Mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Joe Reardon, announced today he would not seek reelection for a third term this spring. In a letter from his office, Reardon said he made the decision based on personal reasons.

“I have a family at home that I love very much. It is important to me that I spend more time with them. My two sons are growing up much too quickly,” he said in his letter, which is posted in full on his Facebook page.

That Wyandotte County is grappling with some major health issues is no secret. It’s ranked one of the least healthy regions in Kansas, and findings from a recent health assessment reaffirm the challenges:

Construction is now underway at Cerner’s new campus near the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Once completed, the $190 million development will contain two nine-story buildings on a 660,000 square-foot campus and employ thousands of people.

For the second time in slightly more than a hundred years, a current or former president visited the Kansas town of Osawatomie. There were similarities, then and now. Inside Osawatomie High School gymnasium President Barack Obama encouraged his listeners, cajoled Congress and invoked the memory of Theodore Roosevelt. KCUR's Dan Verbeck was there and described hundreds waiting in line on streets and sidewalks.